History

The Civic Hall was opened in 1971. The hall was used for many different activities such as indoor bowls, roller skating, community celebrations, photographic exhibitions and youth concerts. This hall is now part of Whirinaki Whare Taonga and known as the Professionals Recreation Hall.

In February 1993 the Upper Hutt Valley Community Arts Council presented a proposal to the Upper Hutt City Council for a local arts theatre and gallery. The city council allocated money for a facility and in February 1994 established the Upper Hutt Community Arts Centre Trust. The Trust developed a comprehensive brief in conjunction with theatre consultant Dorita Hannah. Architecture+ was engaged as architect and, with the Trust’s team, liaised with local groups to develop a design for the Fergusson Drive site.

In 1998 the Trust presented its proposal to council for a combined visual and performing arts facility at a cost of around $5.5m. Consultants were engaged to carry out an audit of the submission, followed by a feasibility study on the proposal. In 1999 the council, reviewing progress, considered several options including standalone gallery sites and a theatre with reduced specifications. The best option - providing a quality facility at an affordable price - was to redevelop the Civic Hall into a flexible performance/exhibition space plus an art gallery.

Building started on Expressions (Whirinaki) in 2002 and finished at the end of August 2003 in time for the official opening on 1 September.

In 2015 the Trust identified the need to extend the Centre to accommodate the extraordinary growth in visitors (almost double) and to meet the needs of the local community. The extension of Expressions saw the addition of a The Gillies Gallery, a heritage focussed gallery where our community can access and learn about our cultural heritage as well as a compliant collection storage to protect the Pumpkin Cottage Collection. A creative workshop where hands-on creative learning can take place was added as well as a commercial Kitchen to support cultural activity in the recreational hall which is often used as a place for community gathering and cultural performances.

This was a $9 million project with te trust raising $3 million towards this cost. Athfield Architects were the Architects and Maycroft Construction the Contractors. Building Consent was lodged in May 2019 and construction started in August 2019. A related works project saw the retro fitting of a new fire sprinkler system throughout the centre in order to bring the building up to code and the new Extension was built to 150% of IL3.

The new space for the centre opened in 2021 with a dawn ceremony on and an opening gala on 13 May 2021. The name of the Trust and the Centre also changed at this time to Whirinaki Whare Taonga. This new name builds on the māori name Whirinaki, which was gifted to the Trust from Orongomai Marae in 2008.

Whirinaki means to provide support, or to lean on, and encourage.

Whare Taonga means House of Treasure.

Whirinaki Whare Taonga is a place where community belonging and wellbeing is increased through engaging, enriching, inspiring and connecting people with arts, culture and events.